Staff Reports
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has rolled up her sleeves and gotten right to work, saving taxpayers millions by dramatically reducing grants funneled to foreign countries for labor initiatives. The recent cuts show she has no intention of playing nice when it comes to the budget at the Department of Labor (DOL), which is refreshing considering the previous administration’s penchant for flushing taxpayer dollars down the global toilet.
Within just a week of taking office, Chavez-DeRemer found herself staring at a mountain of unnecessary spending that was eerily reminiscent of the wasteful allocations made by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). One can only guess she was shocked—shocked—to discover how U.S. taxpayer money was being effectively donated to other countries. She swiftly cut a variety of extravagant grants, including a $1.5 million effort to ensure transparency in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry (because what Uzbek farmers were really missing was a dose of American-style oversight), and a staggering $7 million aimed at promoting climate change initiatives across Brazil, Chile, South Africa, and Colombia.
Exclusive — Labor Department Saves $33 Million by Slashing USAID-Like America Last Grantshttps://t.co/qOe3vJu9q2
— @Curt Golden (@curtandnan) March 20, 2025
But that’s not where the trimming stopped. Chavez-DeRemer also took an axe to $18 million in grants that were pushing collective bargaining in countries like Brazil and Guatemala. One can’t help but wonder if anyone counted the number of bureaucrats and NGOs lining their pockets while U.S. workers struggled. Another victim of her budgetary scalpel was a $1.5 million grant dedicated to improving workplace standards in the country of Georgia, because apparently ensuring American jobs are protected means doing the exact opposite abroad.
Chavez-DeRemer made it clear from her very first day that her mission was to eradicate wastefulness. In her initial memo to DOL staff, she implored everyone to hunt down any “wasteful contract spending” and eliminate redundant roles. It’s hard not to feel a sense of relief knowing that someone is finally taking a long, hard look at the bloated bureaucracy instead of tossing money at feel-good programs with little return for the American taxpayer.
In a stroke of fiscal genius, air-tight spending oversight has already saved taxpayers $125 million, thanks in large part to Chavez-DeRemer’s commitment to finding avenues for cutting back on the kinds of contracts that sponsor dubious diversity, equity, and inclusion training programs. Many in conservative circles are ready to pop the confetti at the prospect of finally seeing a government department prioritize American workers over foreign interests. And provided she continues this trend, Secretary Chavez-DeRemer could very well usher in the long-awaited “Golden Age” of economic prosperity that so many have longed for. Who knew that putting American workers first could actually entail saying no to international grandstanding?
